“We take literally the Mayor’s statement that 'the notion of a locally mandated living wage is certainly a creditable concept,’” Welsh said, “and we look forward to working with him and the City Council toward that end. We are driven by the belief that it is immoral to use city funds – taxpayer dollars – to pay workers wages that keep them in poverty. Moreover, we know from the experience of more than 140 other localities that living wage laws are good for the economy.”

Welsh specifically disputed Amicone’s contention that a living wage law would make it almost impossible to settle fair labor agreements with the city’s municipal unions. “Our brothers and sisters in the uniformed services and other unions deserve a raise, but so do people making $6.00 and $7.00 an hour,” Welsh stated. “Nobody can live on those salaries.”